The invention is directed toward devices for removing surgical blades from blade holders.
The scalpel, as a surgical implement, typically includes a handle having a tang with an upraised portion that mounts a replaceable blade. The handle, which can be resterilized, and is therefore reusable, is typically produced in one of two sizes, i.e., No. 3 or No. 4. The tang of a No. 3 handle is of a standard size to fit all sizes of the smaller dissecting blades used for internal incisions. Similarly, the tang of a No. 4 handle is of a standard size to fit all sizes of skin blades which are used to sever the skin in the initial incision. The width of the hilt of each of these surgical blades is fairly standard.
Each blade has a longitudinal opening cut therethrough which is adapted to slidably accommodate the upraised portion of the tang. When the tang is slidably positioned to project through the opening in the blade, the spring steel of the blade allows it to snap over the projection of the tang, locking the blade on the handle.
The blades are not reusable, and therefore must be safely and efficiently removed from the reusable handle. In order to remove the blade, the rearward portion of the blade adjacent the opening, i.e., the hilt, must be pried upward or distorted in order to clear the projection of the tang. In the past, the surgical nurse has often accomplished this task by using a forceps. With the tilt portion of the blade pried over the top of the projection, the blade is then held by an instrument, such as a forceps, and is slidably pulled off the handle tang. Such manual removal of the soiled blade is not only awkward, but also can be hazardous since the blade may carry viruses or other infectious disease.
At the conclusion of surgery, it is also important that all blades used be accounted for and discarded in a package which will not permit removed blades to fall out.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,120,397, issued to Neumann, represents an attempt to devise a blade remover which removes the blade and retains it in a receptacle which can then be discarded. The device, while perhaps an improvement over the manual forceps method, is not satisfactory since it is awkward and frustrating to manipulate. Even after fully understanding how the device is to be used, the blades are removed with difficulty. Moreover, the construction of the device is expensive, cumbersome and bulky.
There is therefore a definite need for a blade remover which quickly and safely removes the blade which is inexpensive and which retains the removed blade in a way that it can readily be accounted for and discarded.